GRID

ELEMENTS GRID, our node-based distributed file system platform, provides an ultra-fast software-defined storage that is easily scalable to multiple petabyte in capacity and a throughput of numerous GByte/s.

Key Facts

Capacity

Speed

• multiple Gigabyte/s

Scalability

• add more nodes to gain capacity, performance and availability

• scalable with no downtime required

Product Details

Add capacity and performance – without downtime

Without the need to shut down the file system, nodes can be added on the fly. Appending nodes increases not only capacity but also performance and throughput – while it is unnecessary to rebuild the file system.

No single point of failure, no data loss

Running with EMFS (ELEMENTS Media File System), ELEMENTS GRID is a remarkably fault tolerant high-reliability server cluster with no single point of failure. The distributed file system with automated data integrity check increases data security – when a disk or even an entire nodes fails, all data is still fully available.

Optimized for media with unique workflow tools

ELEMENTS GRID with EMFS is designed for highly demanding media workflows by providing high throughput and low latencies, supporting the native file system client and all standard protocols (SMB, AFP, NFS). In addition, GRID is equipped with the full set of ELEMENTS‘ unique workflow enhancement tools, including native Avid support. Even the Media Library can be enabled.

Product Features

More than media storage

Discover our unique features that make your daily work less complicated and more efficient – with intuitive tools that ease your workflow.

FAQ

Users are familiar with the speed and convenience of directly attached storage when working with media assets. Unfortunately, this type of storage isn‘t suitable to collaborative workflows, as projects and assets can‘t be shared conveniently between different workstations in real-time. ELEMENTS storage solutions are designed specifically to share media files across all platforms and application while providing consistent high performance for all workstations.

First off, ELEMENTS storage has unique tools and features embedded that are specifically designed for users to share media – seamlessly and simultaneously. ELEMENTS‘ media aware interface allows for easy access to view, comment and even edit media assets remotely and provides the option to simply set-up tasks for workflow automation.

Standard IT workflows have very different read and write patterns, and low latencies are not essential. Media workflows are a lot more time-critical; hence, low latencies and high bandwidth are crucial for post-production and broadcast workflows, otherwise stuttering video and other issues will occur.

Media storage is optimized to deliver high-performance for every workstation connected, and a specialized file system allows heterogeneous networks with numerous applications on different operating systems to share media assets efficiently from the same storage pool.

There are virtually no limitations, as ELEMENTS‘ task manager can easily be set up to perform any task, such as automatic backup or defragmentation, moving or archiving content, or any task useful in your particular workflow.

The most common use of workflow automation are concerning the approval process, for example moving approved files to a certain folder, or rejected files to another folder. But with the option to set up automation tasks across users, user groups, content location or any other parameter, the possibilities are endless.

Yes, with ELEMENTS you can share content seamlessly across virtually all NLE applications, including Avid. Even Avid bin-locking and Avid project sharing is supported, as ELEMENTS fully emulates an ISIS/Unity environment. ELEMENTS GATEWAY provides the same functionalities for any SAN or NAS (non-ELEMENTS) storage.

It depends on your workflow requirements. A rule of thumb: if you work in a heterogeneous network with various applications, with raw formats/DPX files, require real-time streams and produce in resolutions 2K and up, you will most likely need a Fibre Channel-based SAN, as a 10Gb Ethernet network will not provide appropriate bandwidth.